Bargaining teams for St. Charles Bend and the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals met Wednesday for continued negotiations on a first-time contract. This session included a federal mediator in an effort to move the process forward. The parties exchanged proposals through the mediator in confidential sessions.
“The bargaining teams engaged in some joint sessions throughout the day and the presence of the mediator was very helpful,” said Aaron Adams, president of St. Charles Bend. “We are hopeful we can get back to the table soon for further discussion.”
The St. Charles bargaining team shared with the OFNHP team that the hospital is eager to get back to the table and resolve the situation, but continues to find it challenging to both bargain and run the hospital during a strike. For this reason, St. Charles has asked the union if its members would be willing to return to work so the hospital can create an environment in which its team could better focus on bargaining.
“No one wins in a strike – not the health system, not our caregivers, not our patients, not our community,” Adams said. “We want the strike to end so we can get back to the table, resolve the contract and focus all of our energy on the most important work of all – caring for our patients.”
Meanwhile, Sam Potter, an organizer with OFNHP issued the following statement: “We have done everything we can to settle this contract and end this strike, but St. Charles leadership is dangerously out of touch with the people taking care of our community,” Potter said. “Every day that they prolong this strike, they are making a conscious decision to put our families, our community, in danger rather than pay their employees fair wages.”
